1. Field of the Invention.
This invention pertains to electrical systems, and more particularly to apparatus for enclosing electrical wiring.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Various types of products have been developed to enclose electrical wiring in outdoor environments. To assure the safety of electricians working on an installation and of the public in general, outdoor wiring must meet rigid standards. For example, outdoor wiring in Wisconsin is subject to the provisions of Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 101 Subchapter IV.
A particularly important application of outdoor wiring involves rural sanitary systems. In so-called mound systems, a submersible electric pump is used to pump liquid from a holding tank to a distribution bed. The pump is usually located inside a tubular concrete sewer riser, which is covered by a concrete cover. The mound system usually includes an alarm system that gives warning of an impending malfunction. The alarm system may operate on a lower voltage than the pump. Lift stations in conjunction with conventional septic tanks and drain fields also use submersible electric pumps, either with or without alarm systems.
A difficult problem encountered in constructing outdoor sanitary systems, whether mound types or conventional types that include lift stations, concerns the connecting of the wiring for the pump and alarm system to the wiring from a power source. The wiring must, of course, meet all applicable standards. Specifically, the wire connections must be made above ground level, and they cannot be made in the sewer riser. Further, the connections must be inside a weather resistant enclosure that is sealed from moisture from the sewer riser. The relatively high voltage wires for the pump must be separated from the relatively low voltage wires for the alarm system. Approved conduits are required for the wires leading to and from the enclosure.
Prior electrical components and connections that meet the provisions of the appropriate codes leave much to be desired when applied to outdoor sanitary systems. In prior approved installations, the enclosures are usually located several inches from the sewer risers, and they are often supported above ground level in an exposed condition by conduit or pipe. Such installations look amateurish. Worse, the enclosures are vulnerable to damage from lawn mowers and other yard and garden equipment, as well as to children playing in the area. Even with approved enclosures and other components, it is particularly troublesome to separate the lower voltage alarm system wiring from the higher voltage pump wiring.
Because of the unsatisfactory nature of prior approved components and connections for outdoor sanitary systems, many contractors install non-approved electrical systems. Those systems frequently place the enclosures below grade where they are protected from mechanical damage but susceptible to corrosion. In some instances, the high and low voltage wires are placed side by side within an enclosure. In other installations, no enclosure of any kind is used; the pump and supply wires are connected inside the sewer riser itself.
Thus, a need exists for improvements in electrical wiring for outdoor sanitary systems.